The Royal Sendoff

DATELINE: September 3, 2013
Patricia E Lyon

All week the staff was inquiring about our time of departure. Numerous fond words and cell phone pictures were offered. Yesterday, THE DAY, Mony, the greatest packer of suitcases ever worked on our five suitcases. There is a sixth giant duffel bag that he keeps at his mother's house with things we use every year: sewing items, 2 lamps, clothes, plastic hangers, maps, etc. This year there were an additional 3 empty water bottle boxes filled to the brim with my clothes for next time and whatever else I could not fit into my suitcases. Mr. Sok would keep that in storage in the attic buying room of his house. After we left, Mony would get to sleep in our Air Con Room and reap the harvest of all the shampoo, snacks, and other stuff he could not take home. His wife would get my empty purse because I was carrying a new silk one home.

About 5:00 p.m. I had a meltdown. I always keep the copies of my flight arrangements in the desk drawer in a plastic folder. I had seen it in the morning, now, no have. Deanna had an extra copy that probably would have been okay. Mony came to the room. He had just had his Toyota cleaned inside and out. When I explained my dilemma, he ran out the door, leaving it open. The cleaner woman and rest of the staff was immediately on it. They began by going through the garbage. Oh no! It was about 115 degrees outside. I felt terrible. Then he began to go through our incredibly engineered suitcases. Deanna set them aside for weighing thus revealing my lost papers!. They had slipped under the suitcase!

Mony told us that the managers were accompanying The Princesses to the airport and that he would come to the room before 9:00 p.m.for suitcases. Sure enough, Mony and another guy arrived just as Deanna and I could rest for a few moments. Then the good-byes began, but not really, because they were all coming to the airport to see us off!

Mr. T and Tiara (the managers), their two children, the grandmother or aunt, who accompanies the children were in the truck with the giant suitcases. "GM" the General Manager was in the front seat with Mony. Kosahl climbed into the back seat with us. When we arrived at the airport Mr. Kosahl called his wife so she could say good-bye too. Khmer people do not hug, they bow. But they hugged. All hugging and hugging. Then Deanna and I carted our luggage inside. We weighed in at just ounces around the 50 pound limit for each of the 5 suitcases.

After loading and passport checking, we had to follow a young man outside to an office to pay the baggage fee of $200.00 for the third bag, so we walked by our entourage again. And again on the way out of the office. It took forever because the credit card machine was not working and he accidently charged me $2.00 instead of $200.00 and had to get a manager to undo and re-do it. Which would have been nice.

It is the custom of our Khmer friends waving good-bye to wait outside at the window because they can see when we have made it through security and offer a final good-bye wave. After the final wave, we only had a few minutes until boarding.

Did I mention that today we gave out 24 tips to the staff?